The Tithe of YHVH

THE TITHE OF YHWH

by James Scott Trimm

edited by Paul D. Newman


Now, for the first time I have felt deeply compelled to write on the subject of the Torah principle of tithing so as to lay out what theTorah actually says on the subject of tithing for both Jews and non-Jews. I am a bit self conscious about teaching on this topic because of the obvious conflict of interest. However if Torah teachers do not teach people what the Torah teaches on the Torah principle of tithing then who will? I will add that I have been a full time Torah teacher for many years and this is the first time I have ever taught on this subject with any depth. The reason I am writing this article is because I have so often been asked questions about tithing. I hope this paper answers many of those questions. Much of the information taught on tithing in "Christianity" is very inaccurate. For example, many "Christian" preachers who teach that theTorah has been abolished encourage tithing from their members. This is of course totally inconsistent with their own theology. The only time the tithe is mentioned in the "New Testament" is in reference to the Torah practice... but according to their (false) theology we are not obligated to observe the commandments of the Torah. In fact, if indeed the Torah was "bondage" that we needed to be "freed" from (and itis not) then certainly the requirement to tithe would be part of that bondage that we were supposedly freed from. So why would "Christian" preachers be so inconstant as to encourage tithing from their members?And what basis do "Christian" preachers have to receive the tithe? However, how should those of us who understand that the Torah is for all generations forever treat the topic of tithing? Should we tithe? If so, where do we send a tithe? In this article I hope to answer many commonly asked questions about tithing from a Torah perspective.

THE MEANING OF THE WORD "TITHE"
It simply means one tenth. The root of the word is 'EhSehR, which is the feminine cardinal for the number "ten". One tenth is formed by adding the letter "mem" or "m" prefix. Thus we have the word, Ma-'ASaR meaning "from the tenth." An institution that derives it's support from the tithes of the people is called an Elee-mosy-nary organization. The "Eli" means Elohim's, and "em"osy means tithe plus the adjective suffix, "ary". The "r" in "ary" assimilates the final "R" of' Ma-ASaR. Thus the word tithe simply means a tenth.

IS THE TITHE A TENTH OF NET OR A TENTH OF GROSS?
I am often asked if the tithe is on the gross or on the net. The answer is that the tithe is on the net, not on the gross. This is made apparent from what the Torah tells us concerning the Mosaic Tithe:

22: You shalt truly tithe all the increase of your seed,that the field brings forth year by year.(Devarim 14:22) Note that in the Mosaic tithe the tithe was only paid on the"increase" (i.e. the profit margin) but the planted seed (overhead)was not included, only the increase was tithed on. In other words the tithe is on the net income not the gross income.

SHOULD NON-JEWS TITHE?
Yes. The Torah records that Avraham tithed in Bereshit 14:18-20 before he was circumcised in Bereshit 17 to become the first "Jew" (I am here using the modern definition and referring to a member of Am-Yisrael). Thus, Avraham was only within the Noachdic Covenant (Bereshit 9) when he tithed in Bereshit 14, demonstrating that tithing is not a practice restricted to Jews.

THE MOSAIC TITHE
The concept of the Mosaic Tithe (the Tithe of the Mosaic Covenant) is that Elohim and Yisrael are partners in the Land of Yisrael. The Mosaic tithe is due from all produce from "the Land" (VaYikra 27:30-31). Notice that the Mosaic tithe is not simply due on produce from "land" but from "the Land". "The Land" is not just a reference to land in general but to the promised Land of Eretz Yisrael. Since Elohim gave the Land to Yisrael (Bereshit 15:18-21), Yisrael is obligated to pay Elohim 10% of the increase for the produce taken from His Land (VaYikra 27:30; Devarim 14:22). The Mosaic tithe therefore applies only to agricultural produce and then only that which is taken from the Land of Israel. There are actually two tithes in the Mosaic Covenant which were tied to the seven year cycle of the Land. The first tithe (Masserot) is due every year for the maintenance of the Levites (VaYikra 27:30; Bamidbar 18:21), who then gave a tenth of the tithe to the Cohen Gadol (apparently to be distributed to the Ahronic Cohenim (Bamidbar 18:23-32). The second tithe (Maaser Sheni) was converted to money and used to make a personal pilgrimage to Yerusalem. The "pilgrim" could spend this money however he liked on the pilgrimage but was expected to treat the Levites to a feast as well upon his arrival and any surplus was given to the Levites (Devarim 14:22-27). Every third year however, the tither stayed home and used this second tithe to feed the needy and local Levites (Devarim 14:28-29). Thus the Mosaic tithing schedule goes like this:

Year1. First Tithe: Levites; Second Tithe: Pilgrimage and Levites
2. First Tithe: Levites; Second Tithe: Pilgrimage and Levites
3. First Tithe: Levites; Second Tithe: Feeds the needy and Levites
4. First Tithe: Levites; Second Tithe: Pilgrimage and Levites
5. First Tithe: Levites; Second Tithe: Pilgrimage and Levites
6. First Tithe: Levites; Second Tithe: Feeds the needy and Levites
7. The Sabbath of the land, only the First Tithe was paid on any volunteer crop and on other non-planted produce. (The first tithe could only be converted into money by paying a 20%penalty (VaYikra 27:31) however the second tithe was generally converted to money as a matter of course (Devarim 14:25).) Why did the Levites receive the Mosaic Tithe? This was so that the Levites could devote themselves to full time Torah Study (Divrei HaYamim Bet 31:4-5) so that they could in turn teach Torah to the people of Yisrael (Devarim 14:22-23; Yezekiel 44:23-24).

THE TITHE OF AVRAHAM
Now, having covered the Mosaic Tithe, I wish to discuss the tithe of Avraham. The principle of tithing did not originate in the Mosaic Covenant. Avraham tithed in Bereishit 14 long before the Mosaic Covenant (or even the Avrahamic Covenent) was entered into. Lets examine Bereishit 14 and see what the Torah tells us about this pre-Mosaic tithe.
18: And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the Cohen of the most high Elohim. 19: And he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of the most high Elohim, possessor of heaven and earth: 20: And blessed be the most high Elohim, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And he gave him tithes of all. (Bereishit 14:18-20) Who was this Melchizedek and why did Avraham pay the tithe to him? The answer may be found in the Book of Yasher (see Yehoshua 10:13; Shmuel Bet 1:18) also known as Midrash Sefer HaYashar. The Book of Yasher contains this same account but with some important additional information:
11 And Adonizedek king of Yerusalem, the same was Shem, went out with his men to meet Abram and his people, with bread and wine, and they remained together in the valley of Melech. 12 And Adonizedek blessed Abram, and Abram gave him a tenth from all that he had brought from the spoil of his enemies, for Adonizedek was a Cohen before Elohim. (Yasher 16:11-12) Now according to the Book of Yasher Avraham tithed to Melchizadek (or Adonizadek) because he was a "Cohen". How is it that Melchizadek is called a "Cohen"? Although Melchizadek was not a Levite (there were not yet any Levites) we do have a clue in Yasher as to why he is called a "Cohen". Yasher reveals the identity of Melchizadek saying "the same is Shem" (this identity of Melchizadek is also recorded in the Talmud in b.Ned. 32).Now this is very important because the Book of Yasher also records the fact that Shem had been Avraham's Torah teacher:
5 And when Abram came out from the cave, he went to Noah and his son Shem, and he remained with them to learn the instruction of YHVH (blessed be He) and his ways, and no man knew where Abram was, and Abram served Noah and Shem his son for a long time. 6 And Abram was in Noah's house thirty-nine years, and Abram knew YHVH (blessed be He) from three years old, and he went in the ways of YHVH (blessed be He) until the day of his death,as Noah and his son Shem had taught him;(Jasher 9:5-6) (If you do the "Scripture Math" you will find that Noach and Shem died AFTER Avraham was born, a point that surprises some people.) Note that unlike the Mosaic tithe, Avraham's tithe in Bereishit 14 was not being made on agricultural produce but on the "spoils of his enemies" (Yasher 16:12; also Messianic Hebrews 7:4) Thus Avraham paid the tithe to Shem because Shem had been his personal Torah teacher.

YAKOV'S TITHE
Another example of the pre-Mosaic tithe is the vow Yakov made to tithe saying to Elohim "and of all that you shall give me I will surely give the tenth onto you" (Bereishit 28:22). Note that Yakov tithed on all that Elohim had given him and not simply on agricultural produce. In fact, Yakov even tithed from his sons. In the Midrash Rabbab, 70:7-8, page 640; there is an important story related to Yakov's tithe told by Rabbi Joshua of Sikaan in the name of his teacher Rabbi Levi: A certain Curthean (Samaritan) attempted to trap Rabbi Mierin with a question concerning Yakov's vow to YHVH (blessed be He) to give a "tithe of all." "You Jews teach that Yakov gave a tenth of all to YHVH (blessed be He); yet Yakov had twelve sons: Yakov also said, 'Ephraim and Manasseh are mine.' That makes fourteen sons of Yakov, yet Yakov gave only one son to YHVH (blessed be He) and that was Levi," spoke the Curthean, implying that Yakov the Jew had broken his vow to YHVH (blessed be He). "How," continued the Curthean, "can only one of fourteen sons be reconciled as a tithe of fourteen sons?" Rabbi Mier replied, "How many matriarchs of Yakov's sons were there?" "Four," answered the Curthean, "Leah, Rachel, Bilhah and Zilpah." 'True," answered Rabbi Mier. "Then how many were sanctified by Pid-yon-ha Ben or the Redemption of the Firstborn? "Four," responded the Curthean. "True," responded Rabbi Mier. "And what is redeemed as set-apart need not be sanctified again. Therefore, since there were four firstborn sons sanctified by the redemption of the firstborn, they need not be sanctified by the tithe of Yakov's sons. Hence, Levi, who was not the firstborn of Leah; was given by Yakov of his nine remaining sons: Yakov gave more than one ninth, he gave one tenth of his sons, more than fulfilling his vow to "give a tenth of all. "The setting apart of Levi, one tenth of Yakov's sons, was to provide a tribe of full time Torah teachers (as shown above) in the Levitical tribe.

A CONCLUDING DRASH
Now let us make a midrash on these things. If we apply the fourth rule of Hillel (building of a father from two or more texts) we see that a general Torah principle emerges as we examine the Mosaic Tithe, Abraham's Tithe and Yakov's tithe. These passages point to a general Torah principle by which YHWH provides Torah teachers through the tithes of his people and by which YHWH's Torah teachers are supported by the tithes of those who benefit from their teaching. If you are Jewish, reside in the Land of Israel and harvest produce from the Land then you are required by the Torah to pay the Mosaic tithe as described above to Levite Torah teachers. If you are not Jewish or do not raise produce in the Land of Israel then you should follow the Torah principle of supporting your Torah teachers through YHWH's tithe.